Lioness devouring a Rabbit 

Curator: This ink drawing on paper is titled "Lioness Devouring a Rabbit". It comes to us from the hand of Eugène Delacroix. Editor: Well, right off the bat, there's something almost tender about it, if that makes any sense. A brutal tenderness. The lioness isn’t just tearing into the rabbit, she's embracing it, almost cradling it. Curator: That tenderness is interesting, given that lions have traditionally represented strength and royalty. Yet here, that power is shown in relation to vulnerability. We see the archetypal power dynamic, played out. The act of devouring is instinctual, primal... it's life and death intertwined. Editor: Exactly. There's this whole chain of associations – power, motherhood, survival – all wrapped up in one, quick sketch. You can almost smell the wildness coming off it. What about the romanticism people often ascribe to it? Does it relate to that? Curator: I believe so. Delacroix was definitely at the vanguard of the Romantic movement, with its celebration of raw emotion and drama. Often, we can look to symbols for echoes of historical events and belief. Perhaps, this work attempts to wrestle with natural themes through emotion, like life. Death. Editor: Yes! And the muted colors contribute to the dreamlike feel, even with the brutality. The focus isn’t just on the action, but also on the inner experience of the lioness. There’s almost a sigh within this drawing. Curator: I can see that, given the Romantic style’s interest in feeling over realism. The visual weight feels as if the lion is succumbing to an emotional or instinctual wave, her body nearly inert. She is both powerful and a victim of necessity. Editor: It is that dichotomy between her royal posture versus the base action that makes this so poignant. There is a story being told through the contrast and the fact it is Delacroix, no less, suggests a more deliberate reading of primal existence. Curator: A moment to remind ourselves, even at the apex of our own societal power, nature and raw existence continues to drive existence. Well, thank you for this exciting analysis. Editor: My pleasure. Nature will do what nature does.